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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29713920">I'll Follow You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylerHyrule/pseuds/SkylerHyrule'>SkylerHyrule</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Truth Comes Out and We Fall [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cults, Demon Darryl Noveschosch, First Meetings, Gen, Kidnapping, One Shot, let me use their fake names challenge</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:07:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,450</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29713920</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylerHyrule/pseuds/SkylerHyrule</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bad is a demon living amongst humans. For the past few years, a cult claiming to worship demons has been kidnapping and attempting to summon demons across the country, and Bad has made it his job to hunt down and destroy them.</p>
<p>This is the story of how he met a boy called Skeppy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zak Ahmed &amp; Darryl Noveschosch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Truth Comes Out and We Fall [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2093109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I'll Follow You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this instead of chapter 3 oops</p>
<p>This one can be read as a stand alone, and doesn't require the rest of the series to be understood (though you should read it lol)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He hadn’t planned on going to Ursia. The county was well out of the way of his current prey, and he couldn’t afford to lose them after only just catching up. He had stopped for the night at an inn, nursing a pot of tea as he sat in the corner of the bar alone. The other patrons kept glancing at the man in the black and red cloak but largely ignored him. In turn, he made a show of looking only at his table, all the while listening to a rather interesting conversation on the other side of the room. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when a group of travellers had drunk too much ale and were getting rowdier by the minute, it wasn’t exactly hard.</p>
<p>“You heard the rumours? A boy got kidnapped a few towns over.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” his companion raised an eyebrow, “you think there’s a reward involved?”</p>
<p>The men laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.</p>
<p>“Of course not you buffoon! It’s just a boy, don’t even think ‘e’s got parents.”</p>
<p>He frowned at their words. How sad that they could mock someone they didn’t even know. Especially someone so vulnerable and in danger. He sighed internally. As much as he would love to save him, he knew it wasn’t an option. </p>
<p>“Nah, the rewards not for the boy. It's for the kidnappers.” </p>
<p>“Oh, oh! That’s right,” a third voice chimed in, “I heard they were part of that demon cult that’s been spreading ‘round.</p>
<p>That caught his attention. He stiffened, setting his mug down and focusing completely on the men.</p>
<p>“Don’t tell me you believe in that bull crap! There’s no such thing as demons, they’re just a lunatic group parading around and scamming people for money.”</p>
<p>He nodded along, smiling slightly. He wasn’t completely wrong; it <em>was</em> a scam, and demons…well. But the cult was evil, attempting to summon demons for their own selfish reasons, believing that they had the right, the power, to call something beyond their comprehension. They had no idea what they were doing. And BadBoyHalo had made it his job to stop them. </p>
<p>“I mean, ‘course not, but the King has a bounty on them, and emeralds are emeralds. I’d do it.” </p>
<p>“Can you be more specific than ‘a few towns over,’ maybe we could make it worth our while,” the first man elbowed his friends, sloshing his drink all over the table. </p>
<p>“Fihi Forest. The one in southern Ursia.”</p>
<p>“Pah,” he spat, “that’s days away, why’d you even mention it ya dumbass?”</p>
<p>The man shrugged, “we were discussing rumours, I just joined in.”</p>
<p>Bad had heard enough. He dropped a few emeralds at the bar as he passed, thanking them and rushing up the stairs to his room. It would be another sleepless night, but he could save that boy, and he would never forgive himself if he didn’t. He grabbed his bag from the chair, having not unpacked yet, and returned to the ground floor. The waitress gave him a weird look as he opened the door, but he just smiled.</p>
<p>“Sorry, something came up, I won’t be needing the room anymore.” He left before she could respond.</p>
<p>He raised his hood as he stepped onto the main road. He walked quickly to the edge of town, eyes glued to his map. Ursia, and Fihi Forest were…to the east of the town he was in. He would certainly lose the current group of the cult, but if he could find another, it was no big loss. He walked until the town was out of sight, rolling hills blocking his view. He looked around, double-checking no foolish travellers were still on the road. None were. He let out a sigh of relief and sunk into himself. He let familiar black particles overtake him, and with glowing white eyes, ran through the night.</p>
<hr/>
<p>He arrived at Fihi Settlement a few hours before dusk. It was a…quaint… little town. If it could even be called that. Barely a few farms and an inn formed the town. It was probably why they’d chosen it. One boy goes missing in a tiny town, miles from anywhere else? The cult would be long gone before anyone found out. Bad considered himself lucky he’d even learnt about the situation. </p>
<p>He didn’t really want to go into the village as he was exhausted from running all night, and through the forest during the day, but he didn’t exactly have any clues to where or how far the cult could have gone. He let out a sigh as he changed into his human form. It was a lot more sophisticated than any glamour and meant that it couldn’t be seen through by anyone with magic, but it left him tired after a while. A glamour was like throwing on a cloak, it just covered the surface, and could be easily seen through by anyone who knew how. His ability to actually <em>transform</em>, though, was almost like replicating a human. The magic was more than skin deep, and couldn’t be removed unless he wanted it to.  </p>
<p>He blinked as the world shifted slightly, becoming blurry, and he slipped on his glasses. Somehow, he’d never been able to perfect the disguise, and his eyesight was always weird. He didn’t particularly mind though, apparently, it made him look less menacing. Once again, he entered an inn, hoping that someone would know more about the missing boy. He looked over fence posts as he walked by, a few farmers gave him nods in greeting, and he waved back. None of them seemed particularly sad or upset. He’d assumed that in such a small town that everyone would have known the boy, as was the case in most isolated places…but, everyone was going about their day as if nothing was wrong. Silently he hoped he hadn’t gotten the wrong town, or those bandits had been lying. He pushed open the wooden door and entered the bar. He had to duck under the low beams, and could probably cross the entire room in about four strides. The bar was empty; it was probably too early for anyone to stop working. A single bartender sat behind the bar, dragging a very dirty rag around the edge of a glass before setting it down as Bad entered the room.</p>
<p>He smiled politely and sat on a stool near the man, but not quite opposite him. He ordered some water and waited, fiddling with his bandana. A glass appeared on the table and he thanked him, downing half of it in one go. He toyed with the rim and cleared his throat, drawing the bartender’s attention. </p>
<p>“I heard um, a boy went missing around here.”</p>
<p>The man scoffed and continued wiping the mugs. “No loss to us, all ‘e did was waste food, no parents and refuses to work.”</p>
<p>Bad frowned internally, that was no way to treat a child. “Would you have any idea where he was taken?” he pressed.</p>
<p>A shrug. “Heard they ran north. They couldn’t have gotten too far though. Why? Kid’s probably dead already, why bother going after him, I say.”</p>
<p>Bad let go of the glass to prevent from shattering it. “That’s fine,” he ground out through a smile, “I’m more interested in his captors.”</p>
<p>He hummed and turned away, shutting down further questions. Bad let out a sigh and finished his water, he placed an emerald on the counter and walked out the door. He had enough sunlight to gain a general idea of where they’d gone, but he’d be relying on guesswork and enhanced senses to find them. He glared at the ground as he passed the villagers, angry on the kid’s behalf. The buildings very quickly gave way to farmland and then the forest proper. He scanned the ground for any signs of human life, and upon spying multiple footprints indicative of a fight he smiled in relief and followed them through the trees.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Midnight was when they preferred to do their rituals. </p>
<p>
  <em>Seriously how cliché could they get? Do they really think the time of day is going to affect anything?</em>
</p>
<p> This meant he had a few more hours to find whatever they were using as an altar and deal with them. The sun had long set, and he’d once again dropped his human form. No one that saw him tonight would be left alive. He stalked through the trees, ignoring any mobs he saw. It was one perk of being a demon, he reasoned—mobs were far too scared of him to attack first. He headed in the direction the footprints had lead, keeping the moon in sight so he could tell both the time and where he was. </p>
<p>He was about two hours from the village, and <em>this</em> close to giving up when he finally saw something. A faint red light glowed in the distance, and long shadows could almost be made out. He stopped moving. The light was about 300 metres ahead, and if he strained, he could hear some gosh darn awful chanting. It was very creepy, and not at all going to help with any demonic summoning. </p>
<p>That’s why he hated these types of cults. They thought they could summon a demon, and were sacrificing innocent lives in their quest for a power that wasn’t obtainable. Even if they did summon a demon, nothing was exactly…binding…them. They could just as easily kill or leave the cultists. The fact that the cult had been growing larger even without any ‘successful’ summons, meant that Bad had his work cut out for him. </p>
<p>He shook his head, he had more pressing things to do than thinking about <em>why</em> he was destroying the cult. Instead, he should probably be actually doing it. He slunk towards the light, finding a man-made clearing with a ring of torches on the edge. The trees they’d cut now formed their ‘altar’, and by squinting, Bad could make out a boy lying on top of a raised platform. He wasn’t chained, which made Bad’s job easier, but it also meant the boy was unconscious. He wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or not. He glanced at the moon again, it was just barely to the east, and another look told him the cultists were going to start soon.</p>
<p>He ran through his options in his head. The kid was out, which meant he didn’t need to worry about fighting as a human (a horrible idea). Five people were milling around the clearing, most had their backs to him, sitting in a small circle near the altar. They had no guards, so they weren’t expecting an attack, which was good for him. He could probably take out the three sitting down in one go, that left the other two who, annoyingly, were on opposite ends of the clearing. Maybe he could wait for them all to congregate in one spot? That way there was no room for error. It would be more dangerous for the boy but Bad knew he would have no choice—he couldn’t afford to get hit even once by the cultists. As amateur as they were in their summonings, they were prepared. Their clerics had crafted weapons specifically for killing demons, and even one hit would almost guarantee his death.</p>
<p>He must have zoned out for longer than he’d intended because by the time he realised the cultists had moved, it was already too late. They stood in a circle around the boy, and a flash of blue light had him blinking away spots in his vision, face pressed to his hands. He watched with bated breath as the light converged on the boy and the cultists joined hands. He had to move now. Growling he flexed his claws and leapt at the closest body. They both went flying as he slammed into them, drawing the attention of the others. This close to the boy he could see what the light had done—he was slowly being covered in diamonds. He cursed internally at his mistake and leapt back as a curved dagger came flying towards him. Darting around the man he let him join his companion crumpled on the ground and turned to face the remaining three. Chancing another look at the boy he watched as the crystal snaked its way across his body under his clothes. He had to finish this fast, hopefully, it would stop if the cultists all died.</p>
<p><em>I really have to stop getting distracted,</em> he thought, as another blade flashed in front of him. He bared his fangs at them, grinning as they flinched backwards. He ducked under a sword and slid his claws into their stomach, retracting them and letting the body fall. Another swing and all five were lying prone. He rushed up the wooden stairs and leant over the boy, eyes wide as he watched the diamond continue to spread.</p>
<p>Had he miscalculated? Was it too late to stop the ritual or was someone… He shot up and scanned the clearing. He noticed the one he’d tackled trying to drag herself to her feet. He growled and she looked up, fear clear in her eyes. He ran at her, appearing to almost teleport from where he knelt to just in front of her, claws finishing her off. He watched impassively as her body dropped and ran back to the boy.</p>
<p>He could no longer see blue on his face, and he watched as it slowly receded down his neck before disappearing. He let out a sigh of relief and knelt again. The boy lay unmoving, and hopefully, he would stay that way until Bad dropped him off at the village. He slid one arm under his legs, and the other behind his shoulders. He stood up slowly. </p>
<p>And nearly dropped him.</p>
<p>“Oh no oh no,” he whispered, lowering them both to the ground as gently as he could. The boy was much heavier than he should be—and Bad was quite strong. It was then that he noticed his left hand. His very much blue and shiny left hand. He rushed to grab it, feeling up his arm until hardness gave way to soft skin. He sat back on his heels, frowning. The diamond had become like a second skin. He could still see where the skin was underneath, but everything up to his elbow was now encased in diamond. He bit back a sob. If he hadn’t wasted so much time, maybe he’d be completely fine. But no, Bad had to fail at his one job and let the boy down. </p>
<p>A groan broke him from his thoughts and he gasped, leaning over the boy in anticipation. A startling blue—ironically nearly the same shade as the diamonds—stared into his eyes and he smiled.</p>
<p>The boy screamed.</p>
<p>Bad leapt back, startled and confused as the boy tried to sit up, kicking weakly at him. He blinked twice before he realised.</p>
<p>“Oh muffin.” He was a demon. He did not look like a human. The boy used in a demon summoning ritual was now staring at a demon, his voice had long petered out and his mouth hung open silently. </p>
<p>Bad raised his hands placating, flinching as the boy did. “I’m not going to hurt you, I’m sorry I scared you.” he spoke softly, in a way that he hoped was reassuring.</p>
<p>The boy didn’t say anything, just looked warily at him, eyes flitting between his void eyes and clawed fingers.</p>
<p>“The cultists are gone. You’re safe now,” he tried again, shuffling away from the boy.</p>
<p>“You’re a demon,” he stated bluntly.</p>
<p>Bad nodded and rushed to speak before the boy could. “But they didn’t summon me or anything! I’ve been living as a human for years, it's my job to hunt these cultists and stop them from killing people like you.”</p>
<p>The boy narrowed his eyes, unconvinced.</p>
<p>“My name’s BadBoyHalo,” he tried, “call me Bad or BBH, though. What’s yours?”</p>
<p>He licked his lips, “Isn’t it like, illegal to give your name to a demon?”</p>
<p>“N—no? Why would it—” Bad couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the question, and he smiled more as the boy’s lips upturned slightly as well.</p>
<p>“Does this mean you’re not going to kill me?”</p>
<p>Bad shook his head vehemently. “Of course! I would never do anything to hurt someone.”</p>
<p>The boy looked pointedly over at the pile of corpses.</p>
<p>“…someone innocent.”</p>
<p>His eyes scanned the clearing, uncaring about the multiple bodies and blood-stained grass before he turned back to Bad.</p>
<p>“I’m Skeppy.”</p>
<p>Bad smiled in relief. “Nice to meet you Skeppy. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”</p>
<p>Skeppy shrugged. “Eh, thanks for saving me. I guess,” he whispered the last part.</p>
<p>Bad still picked it up though, and his face fell. “What’s wrong?” He couldn’t understand why the bo—Skeppy would be upset. Who wouldn’t want to be saved?</p>
<p>“Not like there was anyone for me to go back to.” he went to wrap his arms around his knees but stopped, eyes wide.</p>
<p>“Uh, Bad? Why can’t I move my arm?”</p>
<p>Bad looked away, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”</p>
<p>“What is…” Multiple emotions flickered across his face, and Bad could barely follow them.</p>
<p>“I took too much time. I assume they were trying to summon a Wealth Demon. The uh, ritual involves luring one with a human turned to jewels. I thought I’d killed them all, but one was still alive, so I didn’t stop the ritual fast enough and now your arm is encased in diamond?” he dragged his eyes to meet Skeppy’s, who just stared back uncomprehending. </p>
<p>“So,” he started slowly, “my arm is made of diamonds?”</p>
<p>Bad shook his head. “No no, it’s covered like a shell. Up to your elbow. I’m sorry,” he apologised again.</p>
<p>Skeppy looked down at his hand and tried to flex his fingers, but nothing happened. </p>
<p>“Ok. Ok ok ok this is fine this is fine absolutely nothing wrong with this.”</p>
<p>Skeppy took a deep breath.</p>
<p>“What the fuck!?” he screamed.</p>
<p>“Language,” Bad scolded on instinct.</p>
<p>Skeppy cut himself off with a choke.</p>
<p>“What the hell did you just say?”</p>
<p>“I said language. Hey! Language!” Bad laughed at the incredulous look on Skeppy’s face. “I should—you should go home,” he tried to school his expression. “I can take you.”</p>
<p>Skeppy recoiled, nearly falling over.</p>
<p>“Nonono! I can’t do that! They already don’t like me ‘cause I’m the orphan kid but with this,” he gestured to his arm, “they’ll kick me out, or worse...”</p>
<p>Bad faltered. That was true, the villagers probably wouldn’t take too kindly to an orphan that’d been ‘cursed.’ It also made him a target, what with the literal diamonds littering his skin. He wracked his brain for a solution but came up short. He watched as Skeppy glared at his arm, trying to move it but having no luck. </p>
<p>“I’m not sure what to do. Do you have any relatives or friends in other towns?” he tried, he knew it wasn’t probably but he had to try—the alternative was…not something he wanted to consider.</p>
<p>Skeppy shook his head, not taking his eyes off his arm.</p>
<p>“Then. I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Skeppy rolled his eyes and looked up. “Duh. I’m coming with you.”</p>
<p>He winced, knowing this was coming. “I’m sorry, Skeppy. It’s too dangerous for you.”</p>
<p>Skeppy frowned. “I can fight! You could teach me as well. Please Bad,” he begged, “I’ll be good! I don’t have anywhere to go and I can’t even use my arm!”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a bad idea. Bad knew that, he just didn’t want to entertain it. It would be nice to have a friend, and Skeppy clearly needed one. But on the other hand, he didn’t want him to get hurt, and it was more than likely with his line of work. </p>
<p>“How old are you Skeppy?”</p>
<p>“I’m 13! Practically an adult,” he announced proudly, pulling himself to his feet and swinging his dead arm around.</p>
<p>13 wasn’t bad. He was older than Bad had thought due to his size, but still not that great. He watched fondly as Skeppy staggered, trying to keep his balance with the added weight. </p>
<p><em>Ah muffin…</em> </p>
<p>He stood up, shaking the dust off his cloak. “… I don’t have a choice, do I?”</p>
<p>“Nope!” Skeppy said, already walking off into the forest.</p>
<p>Bad sighed good-naturedly, laughing to himself. “Do you even know where you’re going?” he called, chasing after him.</p>
<p>“Of course I do!” he turned to face Bad, confidently walking backwards. </p>
<p>Straight into a tree.</p>
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